There have been multiple basketball players who have converted to football, and most notably, Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury.
But Adelaide's Josh Rachele gave us a glimpse of his immense talent in a rival sport that could've seen his future play out much differently.
In Saturday's 90-point rout of Sydney, Rachele produced arguably the goal assist of the year, perfectly placing a through-ball ahead of the speedy Ben Keays, who swooped on it from the centre square to run into an open goal on the SCG.
"I kind of saw that he saw me... I think it's saying something that I was expecting it to come through."
Ben Keays takes us through being on the receiving end of Josh Rachele's unbelievable goal assist of the year.#9AFLSFS | Watch on Nine & 9Now ๐ฅ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/roh3z2yZMW
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) June 1, 2025
The execution of the former Pick 6's kick was nothing short of extraordinary, and reflected the Crows' night in Sydney.
"โKeaysy' loves his soccer, (we're) both Manchester United supporters, so I literally just saw him the corner of my eye, felt like an attacking midfielder and he was a left wing, and I just stuck the boot out and it worked perfectly," Rachele said post-game on Fox Footy.
Rachele was a highly skilled Soccer player during his junior days, so much so that he was a member of the Australian U17 squad, and was offered a scholarship by Melbourne City.
But when it came to focusing on one sport, he opted to go down the football path, and has never looked back, despite admitting in 2021 that he thought he was more talented in soccer.
SEE MORE: Rachele Redemption - How Adelaide livewire turned troubled period into career-best form
"The main thing was I always felt I was better at soccer, so I continued that, but when I came back, I played in the VLine junior footy carnival and realised that love for the game and mateship is a bit different to soccer, it's more collective," Rachele said toย AFL Media.
"Whereas in soccer it's a bit more individual, which pushed me away a bit. I don't really watch too much soccer any more, but when the ball's out, I like to show my skills a bit."
The small forward has no qualms in showcasing some of his unique skills that have translated from soccer to football: style, celebrations, freakish kicking ability and theatre.
All of which is embedded in the rival code, and is what's making him stand out for the Crows.
"It was pretty impressive, he might approach (Melbourne City)," teammate Alex-Neal Bullen quipped.
"I still can't believe he pulled that off. It's something now I understand why we play soccer on Mondays. I always thought, 'Why are we kicking a soccer ball?'
"But it's starting to come out on field."
